SAUGATUCK — Stephen King once said humans have filters on the floors of their minds, and certain subjects just catch. For local author Emma Palova, the story of the lost village of Singapore — supposedly buried somewhere in the dunes near current-day Saugatuck — caught.
More:Lake Michigan's 'buried ghost town' and the fight to preserve it
"While I was working for The Allegan County News, I covered the entire area," Palova, who lives in Lowell and once reported for the Ionia Sentinel-Standard, told The Holland Sentinel. "Sometime in the late 1990s, I drove to Saugatuck and saw the historic marker in front of Saugatuck City Hall."
"Beneath the sands near the mouth of the Kalamazoo River lies the site of Singapore, one of Michigan’s most famous ghost towns. Founded in the 1830s by New York land speculators, who hoped it would rival Chicago or Milwaukee as a lake port, Singapore was in fact, until the 1870s, a busy lumbering town.
"With three mills, two hotels, several general stores, and a renowned 'wildcat' bank, it outshone its neighbor to the south, 'The Flats,' as Saugatuck was then called. When the supply of timber was exhausted, the mills closed, [and] the once bustling waterfront grew quiet. The people left, most of them settling here in Saugatuck. Gradually, Lake Michigan’s shifting sands buried Singapore."
Whether buildings are actually buried under the dunes remains unknown — Eric Gollannek, director of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center, believes many of the structures were moved to Saugatuck — but the story captured Palova; and it kept cropping up.
"I walked into the general store and there was some kind of publication about Singapore," she said. "I skimmed through it, and it just stayed with me. But I didn't do anything about it until last year, when I was getting ready for National Novel Writing Month in November."
At first, Palova — until now an anthology and memoir author — intended to write a historical fiction short story amidst the backdrop of Singapore.
"But the short story format wouldn't do it justice," she said. "I went for the novel."
As part of her ongoing series, Shifting Sands, Palova launched "The Lost Town" this summer. The novel, set in Singapore during the pioneer era of the 1830s, follows protagonist Miss Ida of Chicago after she receives an invite from a lumber baron, John Bosch, to be the mistress of his house.
Subscribe:Learn more about our latest subscription offers!
"She leaves her family behind across Lake Michigan and of course struggles in the lumbering town of Singapore," Palova said.
The novel spans Singapore's existence, from the 1830s to its demise in the 1870s.
"It still fascinates me, because what do we know?" Palova said. "There could be something there, right? There's so much to it."
Palova will host a book signing 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 1-2, at Earth Stories Jewelry, 2742 68th St. in Fennville.
Learn more about Palova and "The Lost Town" at emmapalova.com.
— Contact reporter Cassandra Lybrink at clybrink@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @CassLybrink.